This invention relates to wireless electronic devices, and more particularly, to wireless electronic devices with transceiver circuitry for handling antenna signals.
Antennas are used in conjunction with a variety of electronic devices. For example, computers use antennas to support wireless local area network communications. Antennas are also used for long-range wireless communications in cellular telephone networks.
It can be difficult to design antennas for modern electronic devices, particularly in electronic devices in which compact size and pleasing aesthetics are important. If an antenna is too small or is not designed properly, antenna performance may suffer. At the same time, an overly-bulky antenna or an antenna with an awkward shape may detract from the appearance of an electronic device or may make the device larger than desired.
Radio-frequency antenna signals are generally handled with transceiver circuitry. For example, a radio-frequency transmitter may be used in transmitting radio-frequency signals through an antenna. Radio-frequency receiver circuitry may receive antenna signals.
Transceiver circuitry and antennas generally have different mounting requirements. In laptop computers, for example, transceiver circuitry is typically mounted on a motherboard in the laptop base, whereas antennas are mounted in more exposed locations where signal reception is not blocked by conductive materials. In situations such as these, coaxial cables may be used to convey radio-frequency signals between the transceiver and the antenna.
Arrangements in which coaxial cables are used to convey radio-frequency signals between a remote antenna and a transceiver circuit may be subject to nonnegligible cable losses. This can adversely affect radio-frequency performance. For example, in a typical laptop computer arrangement about 1.5 dB of signal losses may be introduced by a coaxial cable as the signals are passed to a radio-frequency input amplifier from the antenna. Because these signal losses are imposed on the antenna signal before the signal reaches the amplifier, the signal-to-noise ratio of the system is adversely affected.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved ways in which to provide electronic devices with antennas and transceivers.